Motor-vehicle.



No. 656.389. Patented Aug. 2|, I900.

P. J. COLLINS.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application filed D504 18, 1899.)

v 6 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

I avwewtoz v fitter/wags V WL tvwooeo v No. 656,389. Patented Aug. 2|, I900. P. J. COLLINS.

MUTDR VEHICLE.

(Applicatigh filed Dec. 18, 1899.)

6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 656,389. Patenfed Aug. 2|, I900.

P. J. COLLINS.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application fllad. Dec. 18, 1899.) (No Model.) 6 Shaats -Sheet 3 (No Model.)

P. J. COLLINS.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application filed Dec. 18, 1899.)

Patented Aug. 2!, I900.

6 Shoets-$heet 4.

Patented Aug. 2|, I900.

VP. .1. coLLms.

MOTOR VEI'HCLE. (Application filed Dem-18, 1899.)

6 Sheets-Sheet 5.,

(In Modal J III/II d IIIIIIl/y,

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v witmaw 0.656389. Patented Aug. 2|, |9oo. P. J. COLLINS. MOTOR VEHICLE.

{Application mad Dec. 18, 1899.) v (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

awuawtot fizz 0% I UNITED T iPATENT Orr-ICE.

PATRICK J. COLLINS, OESCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR ro THE COLLINS ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY, or SAME PLACE.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forniingpart of Letters Patent NO. 656,389, dated August 21, 1900.

Application filed December 18, 1899. Serial No. 740,715. (I l'o model) i To all whom it may concern: g V Be it known that I, PATRICK J. COLLINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification. My invention comprises certain improvements in propelling and steering devices for electrically-operated motor-vehicles,whereby I am enabled to use high-speed motors having light weight and high efficiency and to readily control the movement of the vehicle under all conditions.

In theaccompanying dra\vings,which illustrate my invention, Figures 1 and 2 are plan views of the trucks, the forward truck being shown in different positions relatively to the vehicle-body, which is shown in outline. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the motor-support, having the motor and worm-gears thereon. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the removable partition'within the motor. Fig. 5 is aview of the front of the vehicle, partly broken away and partly'in section. Fig. 6 is'a side view of the vehicle, the forward part being shown in central section. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the head of the steering-post and lever. Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the automaticcouplers for the auxiliary motors upon the forward truck. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement of circuits by means of which the armatures of the motors areregu- Midway between the rear wheels is arranged a motor-support 9,, said support being hinged to the axle at one end and having its free end supported by a po'stlO, depending from the body of the carriage, Fig. 6. Suitable springs 11 are arranged upon the post above and below the motor-support to cushion thelattcr.

As shown in Fig. 3, the" ends of thearms 13 of the support are journaled upon flanged sleeves 14, having angular openings l5,which fit upon the axle- Suitable clamps or collars 16 are arranged upon the axle between said arms to keep the support and the flanged sleeves in position.

The motor 12, as shown in Fig. 3, consists of a hollow rectangular field-frame having at its opposite ends inwardly-projecting polepieces 17 and 18, provided with field-coils 19 and 20,respectively,and a removable partition 2l,arranged midway between said pole-pieces and forming part of the magnetic circuit, said partition having, on its opposite sidesshort pole-pieces 22 and 23, which are opposed to the pole-pieces 17 and 18. In one compartment of the motor, between the pole-pieces l7 and 22, is arranged an armature 24, and

' an armature 25 is similarly arranged between the pole'pieces 1S and 23 in the opposite compartment of the motor. It will be seen that with this arrangement when current is passed By emamount of power may be secured with a ininimum weight in the motor, and as the speed is reduced through the medium of worin-gear ing very little noise results from the gearing. Owing to the suspension of the motorsupport the hum of the motors, as well as any noise arising from the gearing, is deadened. V

As shown, power is transmitted to the wheel 1. by means of a worm-wheel 26, meshing with a worm upon the shaft 27 of the armature 25, and a shaft 28, having a pinion 29 inmesh with the gear 8 upon the wheel 1. Similarly the shaft 30 of the armature 2* is provided with a suitable worm,which engages a worm-wheel 31 upon a shaft 32, having a pinion 33, which engages gear 8 upon the, wheel 2. 'In this manner it will be seen that the driving-wheel 1 is operated by the armature 25 and that the driving-wheel 2 is independently operated by the armature 24. As

' shown, the Worm-wheels are inclosed in suitable casings 34, and the support 9 is formed with a step above the plane of the motor 5 bed upon which said casin gs are mounted, so that the armature-shafts will be in line with the 'lower teeth of the worm'whe els.'

As shownin Figs. 5 and 6, the fore part of the carriage is supported upon 'an'axle-casing consisting of flat top and bottom pieces 40 and.41, united at their ends by short side? pieces 42, suitable springs and a fifthwheel52 being arranged. between the body and said casing. The casing issupportedby the halt-axles6 and 7, which extend longitudinally therein, said axles being pivoted V near the outer ends of thecas'ing in trunnionblocks 43, so that they may swing in horizontal planes, the inner ends of the axles being guide'dbetween upper and lower segmental guideways 44 and 45, As shown, each axle is provided with a dried guide-block 46, between which and the gu'ideways are arranged suitable ball-bearings." Removable bearings 47 and 48 are arranged within-the interior of the casing for the trnnnions upon the blocks 43. j .Ahollow steering-post 49 extends vertically through the centerof the top 40 Of the casing and through the footboard of the carriagefcentrally of the fifth-wheel, said post having a bearingupon the bottom piece 41 of thecasing. Secured to the .poStwithin-the casing is a whee152 having vertical pins 53, arranged at diametrically-opposite points.

The half-axles are formed with slots 54, Fig.

1, at their inner ends which extend longitudinally .and' vertically therethrough, and the pins 53extendthrongh said slots. It will be seen that when the steering-post is turned in either direction the engagement of the pins with the half-axles will throw the latter outof line with the casing in opposite directions, asindicated' in full 1ines,'Fig. '1, the wheels at all times remaining in parallel planes.

'Extending centrally through the steeringpost is a rod 55, which is connected at its upper-end by a link 56 to a pin 57 upon a-wheel 58, the latter being journaled in vertical-side frames 59,which are secured to the upper end of the steering-post. The wheel 58 is prov vided witha handle 60, by means of which said wheel may be rotated to raise and lower therod'55, and by means of which also the steering-post may be rotated. The wheel 58 is provided with rounded teeth 61, which are adapted to be engaged by a spring-detent ,62, so that the wheel may be held in various positions. The rod extends through and be low theax'le-casing, and at its lower end is provided witha disk 63, which engages the forked end 64 of a lever- 65, whose Opposite end-is connected bya rod 66 to the movable contact 67(of aspeed-controller'j68. Thiscontroller may be of any usual form, its purpose torsupon'the rear axles, so that they may be simultaneously started, stopped, or varied in being to control both armatures of the mo speed. It is not deemed necessary to illustrate the connections from thecontroller to the armatures or field-coils for the reasonthat this controller may be. arranged andconnected to govern the speed of the armatures in any of the well-known ways in which street car mo els are contro led.

Above the .disk 63 and supported from the lower side of the casing 40 is a horizontallyarranged steering-switch consisting of a plate 69, having suitably-arranged contact-pieces Y and a switch-arm 70, which turns with the rod 55=and bears upon said contact-pieces. The switch-arm is movable vertically upon an angular portion of the rod, and a spring 71 is arranged upon the rod above the arm iu'o'rder to keep the latter pressed against the contact-points in all positions of the rod. This switching device .is further illustrated .in-Fig. 9, its purpose being to vary the speeds of the ,armatures relatively to each other so that the wheels upon the opposite sides of the vehicle may be'made to tra\.'el at diiferent speeds for the purpose of steering.

' The movement of the arm in a vertical plane imparts movement in a vertical direction to the rod 55, which in turn moves the contact-piece upon the controller toincrease or decrease the speeds of the armatures simultaneously. Indicator-marks 72 are arranged upon the curved faces of the side frames 59, and a pointer 73 upon the arm 60 indicates to the operator the position of the contact-piece upon the controller, so that he may readily obtain the desired speed by mov ing the handle to bring the pointer opposite the corresponding mark upon the scale. The

vertical movement of the rod 55 is also utilized for the purpose of applying the brakes. As shown, the brakes are applied to the armature-shafts by means of a double brakeshoe 7 4, which is arranged beneaththe brakepulleys 75, said slioe'bein g movable vertically in guideways 76. The shoe is connected by a suitable series of rods 77 and bell-crank levers 78 to a lever 79, pivoted upon the dashboard of the vehicle. This lever, as shown, is operated by means of an arc-shaped slide 80, connected-by a pin 81 to the rod 55. The slide 80 is adapted to move up and downon the outside of the post and is formed with a horizontal groove 82', within which the end of the lever 79 extends. This arrangement permits the guide post and rod 55 to be turned without disengaging the lever 79 from the groove in the slide,"a-nd said lever may therefore be operated in all desired positions of the steering-post. When the handle 60 is lowered, the rod 55 is depressed and the con- IIC tact-piece 67 is moved to the left, thereby'cutting off the current from the armatures, and the slide 80 descends, thereby raisin the outer end of the lever 79 and .throug the medium of the rods and bell-crank levers raising the brake-shoe 74 and applying the brakes after the current is cut oit. As the armatures move at high speed and with small torque they may be stopped with a comparatively-li'ght pressure of' the brake-shoe upon the brake-wheels. XVhen the handle is raised, the brake-shoe drops away from the.

the half-axles 6 and 7 out of line with the casing 40 to steer the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 1, I also providemeans whereby the operator may swing the casing bodily with respect to the carriage-body, as shown inFig. 2, and means for locking said casing in the transverse position shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

Ordinarilythe steering of the forward part of the carriage is controlled by the movement of the half-axles relatively to the casing; but occasionally, where it may be desired to turn abruptly, as in narrow streets or alleys, the casing is turned bodily, as shown in Fig. 2. In order to turn the axle-casing, I providea sleeve 85, which-fits over the steering post of the casing, as shown. A hand-wheel 86 is rigidly secured to the sleeve 85, and by means of this hand-wheel the operator may turn the casing bodily in either direction. In order to lock the axle-casing in. its normal position transversely to the body of the carriage, I provide a circular plate 87, having a central opening 88,-through' which the sleeve 85 extends, said plate being secured to'the floor of the carriage. A notch 89 is formed atone side of the plate, and this slot is adapted to receive a latch 90, which is pivo'ted to a boss 91 upon the sleeve. The latch normally rests within the notch 89, thus locking the axle casing in the transverse position. When, however, it is desired to swing the axle-casing, the latch is pulled out of the notch by means of a chain 92, connected with a lever 93, pivoted to the'upper end of the sleeve.

The outer end ofthe lever extends beneathto its normal position, when the latch will.

drop back into the notch, thereby locking the parts. When the forward wheels are turned into the position indicated in Fig. 2, by rotating the axle-casing it will be seen that the power applied to the rear wheels will not be effective to move the vehicle. This situation usually arises when the vehicle has been brought to a stop in a narrow street or alley and it is desirable to turn around as shortly as possible. In order to eX'tricat-ethe carriage from this position and to make the short, turn, I provide small auxiliary motors 91 and 95, which are mounted upon platforms 96, the latter being secured to extensions of the trunions 97. As shown in Fig. 8, the armature-shaf t of each of these motors is arranged to operatea worm-gear 98, also mounted upon the platform, and the'shafts 99 of the wor'mgears are provided with sleeves100, carrying 5 pinions 10l,'which mesh with gears 102 upon the hubs of the wheels 4 and 5. The sleeves 100 are provided with clutch members 103, adapted to be engaged by complemental clutch members 104, which are splined to and movable along the shafts 99. Each clutch member 10-l is operated'by means of a clutchlever 105, the latter being controlled by a ball-governor 106, mounted upon a shaft 107,

said shaft being geared to the shaft 99 by means of suitable gear-wheels 108 and 109. The clutch members are normally held apart by the governor when the motors are not running, as shown at the left of Fig. 8. When, however, the armatures are set in motion, it will be seen that, the governors will operate the levers 105, causing the latter to throw the clutch members into engagement, as shown at the right of Fig. 8, thereby causing the pinions 101 to rotate with the shaft 99 and to move the forward wheels of the vehicle. When it is desired to operate these auxiliary 'motors, they. may be started and stopped by a suitable circuit-closing switch, arranged upon the vehicle in a position convenient to the operator, Normally the auxiliary motors are not in operation and the clutches are therefore disengaged, permitting the pinions 101 to turn idly when the carriage is driven by the rear motors. They may, however, be used to assist the driving-motors in ascending steep grades.

In Fig. 9 I have shown in diagram the arrangement of circuits by which the speeds of the armatures connected to the wheels upon opposite sides of the vehicle are varied relatively to each other for the purpose of steering. In this diagram I have shown the circuits ar ranged to vary the speeds of two arm atu res, although I may also connect the forward motors to thesame steering-switch and eifect the same control over said motors.

In the diagram, 24 and 25 represent the armatures which are connected to the rear wheels, and 19 and 20 represent corresponding field-coils.

The armatu res, as'shown, are connected in series to the battery ll0 through a reversing-switch 111 and the mains 112 and 113. By means of the reversing-switch, which is arranged within the vehicle convenient to the operator, as

shown in Fig. 6, the direction of rotation of the'armatures may be controlled in the usual. manner to drive the vehicle in either direction, and by means of the circuits connected with the steering-switch 69 the fields'may be varied simultaneously, so that as the strength of one field is increased the strength of the lug-switch 69 with different points of the resistance-coil. A wire 121 connects the semicircular contact-piece D with the wire 115, connected to the inner terminal of the field coil 20. The switch-arm 70 is provided with suitable metallic ends 122 and 123, adapted to connect the innens'emicircular contactpieces D and E with the concentric contactpieces. It will be seen that if the arm is moved from the central position shown onto the contact-piece C the entire resistance 117 will be thrown in shunt to the field 20 through the wires 121 and 120. This will weaken said field and cause the armature 25 to rotate faster than before. The continued movement of the arm will shunt the current through the contact-piece B and wire 119 and- F, G, and H, respectively, and the inner termi'nal of the field is connected by a wire 128 to the semicircular contact plate E. The movement of the end 23 of the arm, therefore, over said contact-points H, G, and F in succession will correspondingly weaken the field 19 and cause the armature 24 to rotate faster.

In order to strengthen one field and simultaneously weaken the other, I provide upon the switch a series of contact-pieces I, J, and K, which are arranged diametrically opposite to the contacts A, B, and C, respectively, and a similar series of contact'pieces L, M, and N, which are arranged, respectively, opposite to the contacts F, G, and H. The contacts I, J, and K are connected by wires 129, 130, and 131 to difierent points of thefield-coil 19, and the contact-pieces L, M, and N are connected by wires 132, 133, and 134 to difierent points of the field-coil 20. When the arm 70 is turned-into the-position indicated in dotted lines, the bridge-piece 122' will connect the contact-pieces O and D and a portion of the current will be shunted aroundthe field 20, weakening the latter in the manner previously described, and the field 19 will be strengthened by. reason of the short-circuiting of the coils upon the field between the points of connection of the wire 131 and the wire 115, the current passing through said wire 131, contact-piece K, bridge-piece 123, con-tact E, and wire 128 to the wire. 115.

This short-circuiting of asection of the field 19 reduces the resistance of the field and permits a larger quantity of current to-circulate in the remaining coils, thereby strengthening the field. It will be seen thatthe movement of the arm 70 onto the contact-piece J will short-circuit a greater portion of the field 19 through the wire 130 and that the still further movement will short-circuit a larger section of the field-coil through the wire 129,

and the increased volume of current which is permitted to pass by reason of the reduction in resistance will increase the strength of the field 19. It will be clear without further description that the movement of the arm in the opposite direction will cause an increase in the strength of the field 20 and a corresponding decrease in the strength of the field 19 and that while the arm is in the central position (shown in full lines in the figure) the field strengths will remain alike. As the switch-arm 70 turns with the rod 55 a movement of the operating-lever to the right will cause an increase in the speed of the armature 24 upon the left and a decrease in the speed of the armature 25 upon the right, anda movement of the lever to the left will cause an increase in the speed of the righthand armature and a decrease in speed of the left-hand armature. When the lever is held in the central position, both armatures will turn atjthe same speed. The turning of the steering post by the handle 60 to the right therefore turns the front wheels to guide the vehicle to the right, as indicated in Fig. 1, and also turns the arm of the steeringswitch so as to increase the speed of the lefthand driving-wheel and to decreasethe speed of the right-hand driving-wheel, and when the handle is turned to the left the front wheelsare turned to guide the vehicle to the left, whilethe speed of the right-hand driving-wheehi's simultaneously increased and that-of the left-hand wheel is decreased, resulting in an easy turning of the vehicle by simply swinging the lever toward the side to which it is desired to move. The vertical moirement of the handle governs the speed of the vehicle through the movement of the contact-pieceupon the controller 68 and also applies andreleases the brake.

The operation will beclear from the foregoing description.

By reason of the use of high-speed armatures within a single field-frame the weight and size of the motor are reduced to a minimum, and the weight of the battery to be carried may also be reduced owing to the fact that high-speed motorsare, as a rule, more efficient than slow-speed machines.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In an electrically-operated motor-vehicle, the combination with the fixed axle having a pair'of independent driving-wheels journaled thereon,'of a support suspended beneath the body of the vehicle and hinged at one end to said shaft, a pair of worm-wheels and independent shafts therefor mounted upon said support, said shafts being geared to the driving-wheels, independentarmatures upon the support for operating said wormwheels, and means for relatively varying the speeds of said armatures.

2.. In an electrically-propelled motor-vehicle, the combination with a fixed axle having ceases v a pair of independent driving-wheels jour- I naled thereon,-of a support suspended beneath the body of thevehicle and hinged at port, said motor having two independent armatures the shafts of which arearranged to operate the worm-wheels, and means for rela tively varying the speeds .of said armatures.

3. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with the body of an axle-casing by which said body is supported, said casing being movable relatively to the body, of a pair of wheels having their axles pivoted to the casing and movable relatively thereto, a steering-post for moving said axles, a sleeve fixed to the casing and surrounding the steering-post, said sleeve being adapted to turn thecasing, and means for locking said sleeve to the body of the carriage.

. 4. In a motor-vehicle", the combination with the forward wheels mounted upon independent axles and a casing for said axles pivoted beneath the body of the vehicle, of motors arranged to operate said wheels', means for automatically connecting the motors operatively to the wheels when said motors are running and for disengaging the motors from the wheels when said motors are stopped.

5. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a wheel journaled upon an axle, and a motor arranged to operate said wheel, of means for automatically connecting said motor tosaid wheel when the motor is in operation and for disconnecting said motor from said wheel when the motor stops. H

6. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a vehicle-wheel and a motor arranged to operate said wheel, of means for automatically disconnectingsaid motor from the wheel when the motor is stopped.

7. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a vehicle wheel and a motor arranged to op-..

erate said wheel, of means for automatically connecting said motor to said wheel after the motor is started into operation.

8'. In a motor-vehicle, the combination with a vehicle wheel, a motor adapted to operate said wheel and worm-gearing interposed between said motor and wheel, of means for automatically disconnecting said gearing from said wheel when the motor is stopped. I 9. In 'a motor-vehicle the combination with the axle-casing supported by the axles of the forward wheels, of a body supported above said casing, a hand-wheel connected to said casing and adapted to move said casing relatively to the body, and motors arranged to operate the forward wheels.

10. The combination with the independently-driven rear wheels, of the forward.

wheels mounted upon independent axles, a casing for said axles pivoted beneath the body, and motors for'operatin g said forward wheels.

.11. In an electrical-ly=propelled vehicle the combination with the independent axles having the forward wheelsj ou rnaled thereon, and a casing within which said axl'esare pivoted, of a hollow steering-post arranged to swing said axles upon their pivots, a sleeve attached to the axle casing and surrounding said 'steering-post, said sleeve being adapted to turn the casing, a handle pivoted at the upper end of said post, a rod extending through the post and connected to said handle, a controller operated by the vertical movement of said rod, and a steering-switch operated by the rotary inovement of the rod.

12. In an electrically-propelled motor-vehicle the combination with the rear wheels and independent armatures arranged to op erate the same, of the forward wheels mounted upon independent pivoted axles, arota'table steering-post operatively connected with said axles, a steering-head upon said post, a vertically-movable handle, connected .to said steering-head, a rodextending through the post and connected with said handle, a controller operated by the vertical movement of said rod, and a steering-switch operated by the rotary movement of said rod and adapted to vary the speeds ofsaid armatures relatively to each other.

13. In an electrically-propelled motor-vehicle, the combination with the rear wheels and independent armatures arranged to op erate the same, of the forward wheels mount-' ed upon independent axles, a rotatable steeringpost operatively connected with said axles, a vertically-movable handle upon said post, a rod extending through the post and connected with said handle, a controller and brake-shoe operated by the vertical movement of said rod, and a steering-switch oper ated by the rotary movement of said rod and adapted to vary the speed of said armatures relatively to eachv other.

14. In an electrically-propelled vehicle the combination with the forward wheels mount= ed upon pivoted axles, and a steering-post arranged to turn said axles about their pivotal points to steer the vehicle, of the rear wheels journaled upon a fixed axle, an armature geared toleach rear wheel, field-windings for each armature, and a suitably-connected steering-switch arranged to be operated by the movement of the steering-post to vary the speeds of said armatures relatively to each other. when said steering-post is moved to turn the forward axles. I

15. In an electrically-propelled motor-v2 hicle, the combination with the rear wheels and independent armatures arranged to operate the same, of the forward wheels mounted upon independent pivoted axles, a rotatable steering-post arranged to turn said axles about their pivotal points, a vertically-movable handle connected to said post, a controller and brake-shoe operated by the verti-' cal movement of the handle, and a switch hicle, the combination with the rear Wheels,

operated by the rotary movement of the post t-roller operated by the vertical movement of 'to vary the speeds of the armatures relatively the handle, and a switch operated by the 10 to each other.

' tary movement of the post to vary the speeds of the armatures relatively to each other.

'In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence'of two witnesses.

PATRICK J. COLLINS.

16. In an'electrical'ly-propelled motor-veandindependent armatures arranged to operate the same, of the forward wheels mounted upon independent pivoted axles, a rotatable steering-post arranged to turn said axles about their pivotal points, a vertically-movable handle connected 'to said post, a con- Witnesses:

ROBERT WATSON, DI. F.'SANDS. 

